His Way
by QueenCaroline
Summary: Post The Moth. Throwing the drugs in the fire was only the first step. Can the self declared 'Rock God' survive the emotional and physical pains of heroin withdrawal?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **His Way.

**Reviews: **Always responded to and loved.

**Rating:** M for strong language, references to drug taking and possible violence.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

**Hello there! This is my first lost story; it's a Charlie centric story about his struggle through withdrawal. This is post "The Moth" as that is all I have watched up to. (I have just been introduced to the TV show Lost so I'm still only on the first season.) The flashbacks in this are my own made up ones since I don't know what happens after The Moth. Enjoy! Read and Review. I appreciate constructive criticism with all my stories as it helps me improve as a writer. **

Charlie sat near the fire sweating. He felt terrible; the withdrawal was certainly getting worse. He thought he should move away from the fire because he was sweating so much but his limbs ached and he felt so tired. Also, he knew if he moved away from the fire he would then get cold sweats. Jack was sat next to him reading a book and occasionally glancing over towards him.

Jack snapped his book shut and gave Charlie a sidelong glance. "You wanna take a walk Charlie?"

Charlie shook his head slowly, painfully. _Great, now I have a headache, bloody drugs, _he thought. "I get up," he paused, struggling to talk through the confusion he was feeling. So far life without drugs was proving very depressing and most un-fun indeed. Jack looked at him expectantly. "I'll fall straight back down on my arse again," Charlie pointed out. "Probably ending up face down in my own vomit," he said frowning. He had vomited quite a lot already and didn't feel any better, also, he didn't like been sick in-front of people.

Jack chuckled. "Okay," he replied, grabbing a nearby bottle of water and taking a swig. He offered it to Charlie.

Charlie waved him off as another bout of nausea hit him full force. "Crap."

Jack touched his shoulder gently. "What?"

Charlie pulled his hood further up till it was over his sweaty forehead. "I feel like crap," he mumbled.

Jack put the bottle of water to the side. "It'll get better Charlie," he assured him.

Charlie groaned weakly and fell backwards as spasms wracked his thin frame.

"Whoa," Jack said, grabbing Charlie gently and laying him down on the ground. He then got a blanket and laid it over the young man.

"How's he doin?" a concerned voice asked from behind Jack. It was John Locke.

Jack stood up and shielded Charlie from view. He wasn't about to give Charlie's secret away. "Hurley tell you?" he asked, remembering the lie he told Hurley about Charlie's flu. Well, heroin withdrawal was like really bad flu.

Charlie held his stomach as the cramps got worse. "He knows Jack," Charlie muttered shakily, motioning Locke forward weakly with his arm.

Locke knelt down next to Charlie. "You're doin' well Charlie," he said, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't give up."

"Gee, thanks dad," Charlie replied sarcastically before he suddenly felt the intense urge to puke. "Bag," Charlie demanded quickly as he sat up.

Jack grabbed the bag hurriedly and gave it to Charlie; it was one of the standard aeroplane sick bags that everyone hated. Charlie turned his head away from Jack and Locke and vomited into the bag, he hadn't been able to stomach any food so it hurt a lot when he puked. After he had finished his throat felt sore and he was sweating more then ever, except now they were cold sweats so he moved even closer to the fire.

Jack offered him some water and this time he gulped it down as Locke looked on concerned.

Locke sat next to Charlie even though Charlie refused to look his way, he was too embarrassed. "When your better, maybe I can teach you how to catch some boar."

Jack gave a small smile and walked away to talk to Kate.

"Cheers, but I'm not really the hunting type," Charlie said groggily as his eyes struggled to stay open. "Or the anything type."

Locke noticed how worn out Charlie looked and got up to leave. "I'll let you sleep."

Charlie's eyes snapped up desperately. "Don't go," he pleaded and then realized how desperate he sounded. "I mean, I won't be-able to sleep."

Locke smiled and sat down again. "How'd you get into drugs Charlie?" Locke asked, intrigued.

Charlie shrugged through the pain. "Came with the territory," he answered. "And my brother Liam, he was a drug addict…" he trailed off, not really liking where the conversation was heading. He hated discussing his past.

Locke nodded. Charlie caught his look and he snapped. He had seen that look so many times before. "I know what you're thinking. Oh Charlie, he came from a family of junkies, it ain't like that man. I had a nice mum, religious and…"

Locke interrupted. "I'm not thinking anything Charlie."

Charlie's eyed him warily. "Oh so I'm paranoid now! Yeah, blame it on the drugs," He hissed angrily. "You pretend you don't judge me but you do, they all do, they always have."

Locke was shocked by Charlie's sudden change. "Calm down Charlie."

Charlie struggled up and nearly fell down again before Locke grabbed hold of his arm, holding him steady. "Let go Locke, I'm fine."

"You're not fine, you need to lie down."

Charlie pulled away from Locke and managed to stand up on his own. "I'm off for a walk," he replied, walking towards the jungle.

Locke started to follow him before Charlie stopped him. "Alone."

Locke looked at him for a moment before he turned around and walked away.

* * *

Charlie staggered through the dark jungle, not quite knowing where he was going but knowing he needed to get away from the camp. He came to a tree stump and sat down, his hands were shaking uncontrollably now and his arms felt heavy. He stared at the words written on his fingers and wondered if it really was fate that brought him to the island, if it was fate he met John Locke and ended up throwing his drugs away. 

HIS drugs…He needed them so much now and longed to snort the poisonous powder that gave him such a buzz, to spread it over his gums and taste the sweetness of it in his mouth. If he had his heroin he wouldn't be feeling like this, he would still have his dignity, he wouldn't be slobbering and drooling all over the place, falling over, vomiting everywhere… If there was a hell, this was it he decided.

_No, I don't need them_, he thought angrily, trying to push the negative thoughts to the back of his head.

_Don't kid yourself mate, _a voice in his head said to him. _You're nothing without your drugs, useless…_

Useless, something Charlie Pace had felt all his life and still felt on the island; he had always wished he was more like his brother Liam, the brave confident one who everyone liked and _respected. _He was always too shy to talk to girls, even when Driveshaft became big and girls were begging him to bed them, he had always worried what God would think and how he should never give into temptation. Temptation was a bad thing.

_The serpent and the apple, _Charlie thought.

After Liam had started using heroin Driveshaft had more or less fallen apart, Liam was always high and would just stagger onto stage and not be-able to sing properly. It was a huge mess and Charlie hated it. Charlie had always loved music; he was inspired by the Kinks and The Ramones and really thought that the whole point they had put the band together in the first place was because of the music but it seemed Liam just wanted money and women and didn't give a damn about anything else…Including his _baby brother._

Charlie picked at his chipped nail polish as his hands shook and he rocked back on forth on the tree stump, trying to take his mind off how much he really wanted his drugs back.

_Idiot, why did you throw them in the fire? _He thought miserably as he stared into the darkness of the jungle.

* * *

_Flashback _

"_So Charlie boy, you all famous now yeah?" his old school friend Tony said ruffling his hair affectionately. Driveshaft were famous now and their new album was doing relatively well in the charts so Charlie and Liam had come to visit their local pub in Manchester for a few beer's with their old friends Tony and Cathy. _

"_Yep," Charlie replied, grinning at his friend. He was so happy. He was living his dream, at last._

"_Ya buyin' then?" Tony asked grinning back as they approached the bar. _

_Charlie smiled. "Sure. Four beers please Shelly."_

_The woman at the bar gasped and held a hand to her mouth dramatically. "Oh my god!" she squealed. "If it ain't Charlie Pace!"_

_Charlie smiled again as his cheeks flushed pink. "Hey Shelly," he replied, giving a small wave. _

_Shelly was an amazing woman to look at, she looked like she had just been ripped out of the 70s. She had shoulder length peroxide blonde hair, striking blue eyes and full red lips painted with the reddest of red lipsticks. Shelly was in her early 40's and had six children by six different men, she had known Charlie all his life and had always had a soft spot for the young rocker so when she heard Driveshaft on the radio she had been so pleased for him._

_Shelly started pouring the beers. "So how's Manchester's finest?" _

"_I'm really," he paused then glanced up at her, his eyes flashing excitedly. "Happy."_

_Shelly gave him the beers. "I'm really pleased for you Charlie. You deserve it."_

_Tony leaned over and patted Charlie on the back. "Charlie Pace. Rock God," he said laughing._

_Charlie laughed back and shoved Tony away playfully. "Yeah, you better bloody remember it mate," he said as he shoved his hand in his pocket and brought out a wad of cash. _

_Shelly waved him off. "It's on the house."_

_Charlie said thanks and him and Tony walked over to sit down in the far corner of the pub. _

"_So, where's Sid Vicious?" Tony quipped, referring to Liam._

_Charlie checked his watch. "He was practicing for the concert tonight, said he'd meet us here. He should be here by now," Charlie replied, frowning as he scanned the pub for his brother. _

_Tony shrugged casually and took a sip of his beer, looking at Liam's untouched beer and grinning. He then looked at Charlie who was busy staring at the door, waiting for his brother and clicked his finger's in-front of his face to get his attention. "Mate?" _

_Charlie turned his head back round. "Yeah?"_

_Tony grinned broadly. "Betcha can't do one louder than this can ya now," he said, a mischievous glint in his eye as he let out the loudest burp Charlie had ever heard._

_It attracted the attention of Shelly who just shook her head at the two, amused. _

"_Man, that's sick!" Charlie exclaimed, wafting a hand in-front of his noise. "It smells too."_

_Tony winked. "Reminds ya of the good ole day's aye? Me, you, Liam and Cathy."_

_Charlie smiled, remembering how they would come to this same pub every night and see who could do the loudest burp, the loudest fart and have drinking games that would last for hours. He missed those times but now he was living his dream, wasn't that more important? _

"_Cathy still in toilet?" Charlie inquired. _

_Tony shrugged. "Suppose," he then grinned, "don't wanna know what she's doin'."_

"_I'm gonna go see if she's alright. She's been in ages," Charlie said, getting up and moving towards the toilet._

_Tony raised an eyebrow. "Right. She is a woman mate," he called after him. _

_The Pace's local pub was small and only had two toilets for both gender's so it wasn't like Charlie was about to walk into a ladies toilet._

_He knocked on the toilet door. "Cathy? You alright?" _

_He got no reply. "Cathy?"_

_Charlie took a few deep breaths and pushed against the door but it didn't budge, not only was it locked but it felt like something was blocking it inside. _

"_Tony!" Charlie screamed, panicking. _

* * *

"Cathy," Charlie gasped as someone shook him awake. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep, fallen asleep in the middle of the jungle at that. As he opened his eyes he was met with the image of Jack. He was looking down at him with concerned eyes. 

"Charlie?"

Charlie coughed harshly. "Jack. Wha…What you doin' here?" he stammered, confused.

Jack touched his forehead. "I came looking for you. You're burning up."

Charlie batted his hand away. "I'm fine," he insisted, moving to try and stand.

Jack grabbed hold of him again. "Charlie stop!" he said firmly, holding onto his arm as he stood up. "I'm trying to help you."

Charlie sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve before trying to push Jack's arm away again. "I don't need any help, I can do this by myself!" he said, coughing again. "I'm not completely useless y'know?"

Jack sighed and reluctantly let go of the young rocker. "I know you're not useless. You rescued me from that cave remember?"

Charlie nodded and stared at his shoes, not meeting Jack's eyes.

Jack heaved another sigh and looked down at the smaller man, his eyes filled with what looked to Charlie like pity. "What were you doing running off into the jungle like that Charlie, at night?"

Charlie rubbed his arm; it felt so heavy and brought his hood down, running a hand through his greasy hair. "Well, I, I dunno, wanted to get away from everyone I guess," he stammered anxiously, really wanting to get away from Jack and be alone again. He was sick of Jack's questioning and pity.

Jack didn't question him further about his nightly adventures, he knew Charlie was having a hard time and wasn't thinking straight. "Who's Cathy?"

Charlie looked visibly uncomfortable, his hand stopped rubbing his arm and his expression darkened. "How do you know about her?" he demanded angrily, advancing on Jack.

Jack put his hands up and took a step back. "You said her name when I woke you."

"Oh," Charlie said softly, embarrassed by his outburst. "She was my friend."

Jack smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "Just friend?"

Charlie's eyes snapped up to look into Jack's, his expression grave. "She's dead."

* * *

"_Call 999, ambulance" Charlie shouted to Tony as he kicked at the door hard, it still wouldn't budge._

_Tony ran for the phone as people in the pub moved to find out what all the commotion was about. Shelly ran forward towards Charlie. _

"_We gotta get this door open," Charlie demanded, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he looked to the crowd of people who had formed around him and the door. _

"_Let me," a tall butch man said, striding forward. The man kicked the door hard and Charlie heard a snap as the lock broke._

_Charlie ran to push the door but the big man stopped him in his tracks and gently pushed the door himself, something was blocking it…Someone was blocking it._

"_Cathy?" Charlie called, desperation creeping into his voice as he stared anxiously at the door. _

_The big man shoved the door harder and he managed to get in, Charlie heard whatever was blocking the door 'roll over' when the door was shoved. Charlie followed the man through the door and gasped at what he saw._

_Cathy was sprawled across the floor of the toilet, skin pale and sweaty, eyes wide and unresponsive. A used needle was dangling out of her stick thin arm. _

_Charlie felt sick and stared wide eyed at the scene before him. He knelt down next to Cathy and moved her into recovery position; he then started trying to do CPR. He started doing chest compressions but there was nothing. _

"_C'mon Cathy, please," he pleaded as he pushed down on her chest again. The rest of the pub looked on desperately. Shelly stood nearby anxiously rubbing at her neck. _

_Tears formed in his eyes as he kept trying. "You can't die Cathy, you can't."_

"_Where's the ambulance?" Charlie screamed at Tony who was stood behind him, tears were streaming down his face now as he stared into the dead eyes of his friend. _

_Tony had been stood in complete silence since he had called the ambulance, his legs felt heavy and he felt like he couldn't move. "They're coming," he said in an almost whisper. "They, uh, they said they'd be here in ten minutes." _

_Charlie wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and continued trying to breathe into her mouth until Shelly walked forward and grabbed hold of his hand, stopping him before he started to press against her chest again. "Charlie. She's gone," Shelly said gently. _

_Charlie stopped the CPR and stared down at Cathy's body, his eyes travelled down to the needle still sticking out of her arm. He gently removed the needle and threw it aside angrily. He then pulled Cathy up and hugged her tightly, crying into her shoulder as the paramedics arrived._

_

* * *

_"I'm sorry," Jack said apologetically, he noticed Charlie's sad expression and changed the subject. "Let's get back to the caves; I need to check you over." 

Charlie stared up at Jack, his eyes red and exhausted his skin pale. His hands shook as he spoke. "It wasn't your fault, I killed her," he answered; his voice strangely hollow as he moved past Jack and walked away back towards the caves.

_Charlie isn't capable of murder, _Jack thought, mulling over what Charlie had said.

Jack followed his friend, concern written all over his face. He realized Charlie must have had a tortured past but hoped the musician could get past that and perhaps start over on the island.

**To be continued…**

**What do you think? R & R. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all my reviewers. Much appreciated. Big thanks to pacejunkie for the constructive criticism, if I continue with my repetition of certain words you shall have to come to Leeds, England and punch me : ) Enjoy!**

Jack had helped Charlie back to the caves, much to his displeasure. He was far too tired and his legs too wobbly to complain although he would occasionally try and waft Jack away with his arm and walk on his own, often ending up falling down on the ground, groaning in pain and feeling like he needed to vomit up the few left over contents of his stomach.

"Lay here," Jack said gently, laying the shaking man down in the cave and covering him with a blanket. Jack thought it best he put Charlie far away from the others so they would not disturb him. "Try and sleep."

Charlie moaned as he tried to get comfortable. "Its day time," he slurred, confused. "I don't sleep day time."

Jack smiled sympathetically. "You sleep as much as you can till the heroins out of your system. Me and Locke will keep checking on you."

"Yeah," Charlie replied. "Thanks mate," he said as he closed his eyes.

Jack was just about to go before he turned round to glance at Charlie again. His eyes travelled down to the rock star's arm which was covered in goose-bumps. "You ever shoot up Charlie?"

Charlie snapped his eyes open and they flicked upwards to lock with Jacks. "Never."

* * *

_Charlie walked out of the Church with Tony. They had just had to bury their best friend Cathy, she was only 22._

_Charlie kept his head down as his passed Cathy's grieving parents, he couldn't deal with them right now. Talking to them would just make things worse; make it harder for them to grieve for their only daughter._

"_Baby bro!" a voice shouted from across the graveyard. It was Liam. _

_Liam leaned against a gravestone, staring blankly across to the freshly made grave of Cathy. _

"_I'm gonna go find Shelly," Tony said and went off in another direction. Charlie knew he just didn't want to talk to Liam after his brother hadn't even bothered to turn up to Cathy's funeral. _

_Charlie strode up to his so called big brother and punched him across the face, hard. "Where were you?" he demanded as Liam staggered backwards, blood leaking from his nose._

_Liam chuckled and clutched his bleeding nose. "What was that for?" _

_Charlie tilted his head, stunned by his brother's reaction. He had expected to be punched back. "You missed the funeral," he spat out bitterly, clenching his fist. Why was he laughing? They had just buried someone they had known almost all their life._

_Liam took a step back and smiled broadly. "I'm here now," he said loudly so the people still outside the church could hear. _

_Charlie did a double take. Was Liam actually smiling that he had missed Cathy's funeral? _

_Liam dug into his pocket and withdrew a cigarette, lighting up. He stood next to Cathy's grave and lifted his head to read the words written on the grave. _

'_RIP Catherine Bates – Beloved Daughter. Best Mate.'_

_He exhaled and let the smoke float in the air across the grave._

_Charlie's jaw clenched as he watched his brother. "You're not even sorry are ya?" he asked vehemently._

_Liam gave a weary sigh and dropped the cigarette, stubbing it out with his foot. "Look bro, I was busy. Get over it."_

_Charlie's eyes widened. "Too busy? How can you be too busy to come to your own friend's funeral?" he yelled angrily. _

_Liam shrugged. "We weren't really friends anymore," he paused, leaning against a tree for support. "Not really."_

_Charlie was streaming. "I guess someone forgot to tell her that huh?"_

_Liam held his hands up. "Hey man, don't take it out on me cos she OD'd. She was a junkie, that's what they do."_

_Charlie took a sharp breath, trying to control himself. "You knew…" He muttered quietly._

_Liam walked towards him, nearly tripping over his feet as he walked. Charlie noticed Liam's hands were twitching but chose not to say anything. "Yeah I knew. So what?"_

"_You knew and you didn't tell anyone?" Charlie snapped._

_Liam sighed. "What would you have done if you knew? Look, I had to think of the band…"_

_Charlie paused, trying to take everything in. "The band? You don't give a fuck about the sodding band, you never have!" he yelled back._

_Liam pinched the bridge of his nose. "If it wasn't for me, they'd be no Driveshaft."_

_Charlie scoffed incredulously._

"_Look Charlie boy, if you'd have known what she was you'd have tried to help her. You can't help people like that…" Liam trailed off._

"_I could've tried Liam," Charlie interrupted quickly. "When I found her she was bleeding. Her veins were so bloody screwed up that she had had to cut into her arm to just find a friggin vein to shoot that shit into."_

_Liam took Charlie's face in his hands and stared deeply into his eyes. "You gotta forget about her man, put all this behind us. We've gotta concentrate on the band. The important things y'know?"_

_Charlie moved away from his brother and turned his head to gaze at the grave, a stray tear making its way slowly down his face. "I can't forget Liam. She was pregnant."_

* * *

Charlie screamed as the memory faded. He had been tossing and turning on the makeshift bed for twenty minutes now and still couldn't drift off to sleep. Suddenly he heard a noise from near the cave, gentle footsteps approaching. 

_Probably Jack, _he wagered.

"Hey," the voice was feminine and Australian.

Charlie smiled to himself when he saw who it was but then felt extremely embarrassed. He didn't want Claire to see him like this. "Hey," he rasped out. "You shouldn't…"

"Don't worry; I've had my flu injection. It's alright," she assured him, taking a seat next to him. "Hurley told me."

Charlie let out a dreary sigh. "Is there anyone he hasn't told?"

"Maybe Sawyer, everyone pretty much thinks he's a dick," Claire beamed, covering her mouth and stifling a giggle.

Charlie sniffed and did a crooked smile. "Young pregnant women shouldn't talk like that."

Claire smiled sweetly at him. "I'm not pregnant anymore Charlie," she answered, her voice changing. It wasn't Australian anymore but he couldn't place what it was. She then stood up and started stripping down in-front of him.

"Claire, what…" he began, confused as she stood naked. Something definitely wasn't right.

Claire beamed at him again and pointed to her stomach, it was flat and the skin smooth. "See."

Suddenly the image of Claire changed right before his eyes. Her normally beautiful hair turned greasy and Charlie noticed it now had specs of dried blood in it. Her skin paled and her eyes looked like hollow slits in her head "Why didn't you save me Charlie?" she asked through cracked lips.

Charlie gasped. "Claire?" he hesitated. "Cathy?"

Cathy stood right in-front of him. She was completely naked and covered in blood from head to toe and had bruises up both arms and on her thighs. Charlie stared at her bruised arms, the track marks clearly visible as the blood dripped down her body. He then gasped as he saw she was holding something…A baby. "No, no no…"

"Why didn't you save _us _Charlie?" She asked as the baby started crying in her arms and thrashing around. She shook the baby gently and murmured a lullaby but the baby kept crying.

"The baby…" he said softly, mesmerized. "It's alive."

Cathy grinned then produced a needle from somewhere and patted the inside of the babies arm gently to bring the vein's up. She then proceeded to inject the needle and its contents into the babies arm and watched casually as it quietened down and seemed to relax in her arms. She hugged the baby close to her chest and walked towards Charlie. As she approached Charlie he backed away from her. "Relax," she smiled coyly.

Charlie's eyes darted around the cave. He was sickened by what he had witnessed. "JACK!" he screamed loudly, his back bumping into the wall of the cave as he struggled desperately to get away from her.

"Shh," Cathy said, pressing a finger against his mouth. She then reached behind him and pulled out another needle filled with something. "You wanna go first?" she asked, grinning as her face seemed to change back again so he found himself gazing into the eyes of Claire as the needle got closer and closer…

He screamed as loudly as he could as he felt needles piercing his skin.

* * *

Jack heard Charlie's scream and rushed towards the cave. When he got there Hurley and Claire were already there, staring at Charlie with a mixture of shock and confusion. 

Charlie lay on the ground sweating profusely. His left arm was covered in numerous gashes and bleeding.

Jack ran forward hurriedly and grabbed the discarded blanket, wrapping it around the young man's arm to stop the bleeding. Charlie appeared to be unconscious yet he was still shaking and his face was contorted in pain. "I need some bandages," Jack shouted towards Hurley.

Hurley stood in a daze for a couple of seconds before he ran off to get the bandages.

Claire gazed at Charlie. She had come to visit him to see if he was feeling any better and had found him bleeding and sweating on the floor of the cave. It had terrified the pregnant woman.

Jack slapped Charlie hard across the face and Claire gasped. "Jack?" she questioned, uncertainly, taking gentle steps towards the two.

"He's gotta wake up. I need to know what happened," he said firmly, slapping Charlie again.

Charlie's eyes opened and he coughed violently.

Jack let out his breathe. "It's okay Charlie. You're okay."

"I saw…I saw her Jack, I saw her…" He stuttered incoherently, lifting himself up onto his elbows.

"Who did you see?" Claire inquired from behind Jack.

Charlie immediately looked terrified at the sight of Claire and recoiled back. "Stay away!" he cried. His eyes were pale and frightened.

Jack looked down at him sympathetically. His gaze turned to Claire whose eyes betrayed her feelings, she was scared. "Claire," he said, gaining her attention.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked worriedly, glancing down at his arm.

Jack considered telling her the truth but knew Charlie really wouldn't appreciate it. "It's really bad flu."

Claire eyed him, confused.

"Hallucinations," he clarified. "Must have been bad," he said, inspecting Charlie's arm delicately. "His finger's dug so far down they broke the skin."

Charlie kept silent as he let Jack examine him, his eyes not meeting anyone's.

Claire's mouth formed an 'O' as she went forward towards Charlie again and reached out with her hand. "Charlie. It's me, Claire."

He blinked. "Claire?"

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, Claire," she answered, grabbing hold of his hand and placing it gently onto her very pregnant stomach. "See."

Charlie let his hand linger on her stomach for a while until he pulled it back and wrapped his arms around himself, hugging his body tightly. "Go, please," he pleaded.

Claire was about to protest before she looked into Charlie's eyes. "Sure Charlie," she said dejectedly and left.

* * *

A few moments later Hurley arrived with the bandages. He handed them to Jack who immediately started tending to Charlie's wounds again, luckily they weren't that bad. "Hey dude. Will he be alright?" 

Charlie was sat staring blankly at the cave wall while Jack bandaged him up. He hadn't spoken since Claire left. "He'll be fine," Jack replied.

"Right. Cos right now, he kinda looks like that dude off Trainspotting," Hurley observed. "Y'know, that guy from Star Wars. Ewan McSomething," he added at Jack's confused expression.

"Ewan McGregor," Charlie muttered.

Hurley and Jack exchanged looks as they glanced towards Charlie. "Oh yeah. Ain't he English?"

Charlie scratched his arm which Jack had just bandaged. "Scottish."

Hurley shrugged. "Same diff."

Charlie grimaced and rubbed at his red-rimmed eyes as nausea took over again.

* * *

_Charlie had come back to the flat him and Liam shared with a stack of DVD's to watch. Since they were children the brother's had dedicated Wednesday night to watching DVD's and stuffing their faces with junk food. _

"_Liam?" he called out as he slammed the door shut behind him. "I got some good ones."_

_He dumped the DVD's down on the table and slumped down onto the sofa lazily. "Liam?"_

"_I'll just be a minute," his brother's voice called out from the toilet. "Just takin' a shit bro."_

_Charlie grimaced at his brother's vulgarity and put the DVD 'Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace' into the DVD player. "Hurry up will ya," he yelled._

_The brother's had made up again after the argument at the graveyard. Charlie had done what Liam had said and tried to put Cathy's death behind him. It was hard but he had to try or he was never going to move on with his life._

"_Bugger," was heard from the toilet and then a huge smash._

_Charlie jumped up off the sofa and banged on the toilet door. "What was that?" he shouted at the door, banging on it harder. "Liam!" _

_A memory flashed into his mind. Cathy sprawled out on the pub toilet's floor, unmoving. "Open up or I'm coming in," he threatened. _

_No answer._

_Charlie took a sharp breath and kicked the door hard, it broke on impact._

_Liam was leaning against the toilet, a belt wrapped tightly around his arm. A needle had been scattered unceremoniously across the floor and was now next to Charlie's feet._

_Liam's head was hanging low, his eyes glazed over. He hadn't even bothered to look up when Charlie kicked the door in._

_Charlie stared at his brother, not quite believing what he was seeing. "No…" he breathed. He turned away from the scene in-front of him and walked back into the brother's living room. He shakily ran a hand through his hair. "No, no, no, no, NO!" he screamed up at the ceiling. _

"_Bro…" Liam mumbled softly from his place on the toilet floor. "It's…It's not what it looks like."_

_Charlie felt sick to his stomach. It was Cathy all over again. He went back to where Liam was and picked up the used needle, staring at it then looking back at his brother who had now fallen into a drug-induced slumber. "Yeah, it is."_

* * *

Hurley sighed. "You wanna…" he began then stopped and sighed. 

The two friends had been sat in silence for a while now and it was really grating at Hurley. He was the talkative type and couldn't stand uncomfortable silences.

Jack had long since left after he was called off somewhere by Locke so Hurley was left to be Charlie's nurse.

"Hurley. I'm fine on my own," Charlie insisted. "I'm not a child. I'll be fine. I haven't had another hallucination so they're probably gone now."

Hurley raised an eyebrow. "Hrmm. Whatever. I'm staying."

Charlie heaved a sigh. "I feel much better now."

"Look dude, I know about heroin withdrawal. I've seen loadsa films," Hurley said casually, picking up an apple that had been left by Jack for Charlie and taking a bite.

Charlie's head snapped up and his eyes widened. "I'm not a…"

Hurley took another huge bite of the apple and shrugged. "Druggy rocker?"

Charlie flinched and sat up to lean against the wall of the cave. "Not much point denying it anymore is there?"

Hurley bobbed his head and wiped his hands on his shirt.

"How did you know?" he inquired softly while scratching his arm. He felt incredibly itchy all over his body but especially his arm. It was very annoying.

"I kinda…Guessed," Hurley answered truthfully. "Don't worry man. Your secrets safe with Hurley," he grinned. "Flu right?"

Charlie smiled through the pain he was feeling. "Flu," he nodded. "So…You don't think I'm a wimpy sad sack of a man?" he asked gently, afraid of the answer.

"Wimpy sad sack? Is that a British expression or what?" Hurley scoffed. "We all have our addictions bro," he commented, waving him off. "Take me for example. I really like pie."

Charlie shook his head and raised an eyebrow. "You're comparing heroin to pie. Now I'm thinking you're on drugs mate."

"Hey! It's serious. I eat ten pies and I just want ten more straight after," he answered. "My mum tried to put me on this detox programme but it didn't work cos one of my girlfriends kept buying me pie when we went out on dates. Pie dates."

Charlie mouthed the words 'One of' as he listened to Hurley's story, amused. Hugo Reyes certainly had a knack for lightening the mood in depressing situations.

Hurley finished off his apple and licked his fingers. He then stood up and spread his arms out dramatically. "I'm Hugo Reyes," he shouted in an over-the-top tone. He then dropped his voice and his expression turned sad. "And I'm a pie addict."

Charlie clapped even as his hands continued to shake, smiling at his friend. "You could be an actor Hurley. Possibly even the next James Bond."

Hurley lifted his head up, a huge grin spreading across his face. "Bond. James Bond," he practiced in a really bad imitation of Sean Connery's accent.

Charlie frowned. "Maybe not."

* * *

"_When did you start?" Charlie asked Liam when he woke up from his heroin-induced nap. _

"_Go away," Liam replied bitterly. He had moved to lay on the sofa after he had woken up and was now watching re-runs of The Simpson's while trying to ignore his brother._

_Charlie stood over him, glaring down at him distastefully. "Sod the bloody TV Liam," he snapped, grabbing the TV remote and switching the TV off._

_Liam groaned and tried to sit up but he couldn't, he felt really ill. "I can't remember," he mumbled._

"_You can't remember," Charlie repeated, lifting his brother's legs off the sofa so he could take a seat next to him. "Withdrawal setting in already huh? How long has it been…A couple of hours?"_

"_Don't start…" Liam began, agitated. _

"_You're a sodding junkie Liam!" he said acidly until his voice dropped to a whisper. "Just like Cathy."_

"_I'm not a junkie," he denied insistently. "I just chip."_

_Charlie laughed out loud but it wasn't a nice laugh, it was a horrible bitter one that made Liam wince. "You can't 'just chip' with heroin."_

"_What do you know Charlie boy? You know shit all about drugs. You were a sodding choir boy for god's sake!" Liam spat back. _

"_I've smoked weed," he pointed out._

"_Hasn't everyone?" his brother shot back._

"_Oh yeah and I found my best mate dead from a heroin overdose," he answered ruefully. "Were you high at Cathy's funeral?" he asked disbelievingly, realization dawning on him. "Is that why you weren't at the pub with me and Tony? Were you bloody high when I was pulling that sodding needle outta Cathy's arm?" he shouted spitefully. It all made sense. Charlie had known something was wrong with Liam at Cathy's funeral but he had just assumed he was drunk or grieving in his own way. He never thought his own brother would become a junkie…Although he never thought his best friend would either. _

_You idiot Charlie, he thought to himself. _

_Liam chewed on his lower lip but didn't answer, his eyes darted around the room before they settled on his shoes. "I'm off out," he announced, getting up slowly._

_Charlie jumped up from the sofa and pushed him back down hard. "To visit your dealer?"_

_Liam sighed. His muscles ached. "Stay out of my business Charlie."_

"_You are my business Liam. You're my brother," Charlie responded. He sat down again next to Liam. "I wanna help you bro. No rehab, you don't need that shiat."_

_Liam was sweating now, his finger's drumming on his knee. "I don't need help. I'm fine," he assured him. "I really gotta go out."_

"_Please, don't…" Charlie pleaded as Liam got up and made his way to the door._

"_Trust me baby brother," Liam replied softly as he went, shutting the door behind him._

_Charlie was utterly devastated. He lay back on the sofa and let the tears stream down his face. He wouldn't let his brother end up like Cathy…He wouldn't… _

* * *

"And this one time…" Hurley continued. He had been talking non-stop for going on an hour now and Charlie was a bit fed up and sick of listening to Hurley's adventures before the island. He felt disgusting, his skin was clammy and his bones hurt. He needed a really long shower but Jack had advised against it in-case he had one of his hallucinations again. 

"Dude?"

"Fine. I'm still fine," he repeated. Charlie was sick of people asking how he was. How did they think he was? He was going through bloody heroin withdrawal.

"Wanna go to the beach man? Claire's probably there," Hurley winked.

"I shouldn't be around Claire," he responded quietly, his expression sad as his gaze settled on something in the distance.

Hurley frowned. "Right, why not? Does this have something to do with you hallucinating and tearing your arm up? Some girls dig the whole self-harm thing…I knew this one girl…"

Charlie continued to stare into the jungle, completely ignoring Hurley. He could distinctly make out a figure standing just at the entrance of the jungle. "Liam?" he breathed.

"What was that?" Hurley asked.

"Let's go to the beach," he said hurriedly. He got up a little too quickly and ended up vomiting all over the ground. "Bloody hell."

**What do you think of this chapter? I hope this chapter's better then the last. I'm trying to improve! Do you like Hurley and Charlie interaction? **

**To be continued… **


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